


don't love you (but i always will)

by KayCeeCruz



Series: Facebook Marriage [1]
Category: Social Network (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Fix-It, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-12
Updated: 2012-05-12
Packaged: 2017-11-05 05:09:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/402770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KayCeeCruz/pseuds/KayCeeCruz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eduardo marries Mark to save Facebook...<i>supposedly...</i></p><p> </p><p>  <i>"There's only one solution to this." </i></p><p> </p><p>  <i>Eduardo stares up at Mark's eyes, shuttered and wary as they lock with his. His stomach churns as he asks the question. </i></p><p> </p><p>  <i>"What is that exactly?" </i></p><p> </p><p>  <i>"We need to get married."</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	don't love you (but i always will)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [casey_sms (shinygreenwords)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shinygreenwords/gifts).



> Written for casey_sms prompt for tsnspringfest 2012: _Mark diluted Eduardo as per canon and Eduardo is in the process of preparing to sue Mark when...the Winkelevii also sue Mark and they ask Eduardo to testify for them (to give damaging evidence against Mark to cut a deal with Eduardo and/or they won't sue Eduardo instead as an accomplice). Mark asks Eduardo to marry him to try to prevent Eduardo from giving evidence against him (and they will have to pretend they were always married - like since before or during the start of Facebook). Mark asks because he has nothing to lose and because Facebook was theirs. It's supposed to be a temporary arrangement. Eduardo agrees because he will get 50% of Mark's FB share after they are done which is more than he'd have gotten if he sued Mark or whatever. Bonus points for everyone going ahhhhh that explains it and they take it as fact without much questioning. Bonus points Eduardo is semi-hiding the fact that he married Mark for the money when Mark already knew all along which was why he didn't get them to fake a pre-nup as well (maybe he thinks if Eduardo is on his side, then he desires to have half and he doesn't care about the money anyway, he'd rather have Eduardo by his side). Bonus points for Mark hinting that he knows it's not Eduardo's choice and if he's discreet, he'll let him have someone else (maybe he thinks it's hard for Eduardo to be faithful because he's used to all the sexxx so Mark gets really awesome at sexing Eduardo so it's not so 'hard' on him during the deps). Bonus points for angst, misunderstandings, temporary separation/talking about divorce, sex and super bonus points for all bonus points xDDD I would prefer if they fell in love for real and stay/come back together at the end._
> 
> I think I covered most of the prompt. The story kind of got away from me. Thank you to AHS for betaing this monster. Enjoy! <3

_"There's only one solution to this."_

_Eduardo stares up at Mark's eyes, shuttered and wary as they lock with his. His stomach churns as he asks the question._

_"What is that exactly?"_

_"We need to get married."_

_The room starts to shrink, walls closing in, and Eduardo shakes his head because he's pretty sure he didn't just hear Mark say that he… that they…_

_Eduardo breathes through his panic because there's nothing else to do with what Mark just said. He shakes his head, ignores the way his heart stuttered over a few of its beats, and stares at Mark._

_"Excuse me?"_

_He sees Mark's face get that pinched, annoyed look it does when he has to repeat himself, but he does it anyway. Repeats what Eduardo thought he'd said._

_"Marry me."_

 

\-- --

Losing Facebook and Mark's friendship wasn't the end of the world for Eduardo, not like everyone in the world (Chris, Dustin, _his mother_ ) thought it was. It hurt like nothing else ever had (except maybe his father's disappointment), but reports of his heartbreak were wildly inaccurate. He can tell most people (Chris, Dustin, _his mother_ ) don't believe him when he says that, but Eduardo can't change how they think, so he doesn't try. (He doesn't think about the fact that it takes him a month to leave his apartment and that it takes him twice as long to even _look_ at his laptop again.)

There's no point in it. 

What he does do is go back to Harvard, despite not wanting to face what others might say, and buckles down. (He tries to avoid Chris, because he doesn't want any reminder of his own stupid mistakes, but that's easier said than done. Chris refuses to let Eduardo get away with that. After a week of Eduardo ignoring his calls and avoiding him on campus, Chris shows up at his dorm room and yells at him for being a dick. Eduardo can't disagree. Their friendship survives.) He leaves the AEPi fraternity because he wants to concentrate on his studies (and it brings back too many memories).

He sets up a routine that keeps him busy as often as he can be, which helps him not think about the achy, hollow place in his chest where he knows Mark used to reside. He blocks as many thoughts about him out of his mind as he can (dreams don't count because he can't control those). Avoids any blog, article, or television show that might remotely talk about Mark or Facebook or anything relating to it. 

It takes Eduardo almost nine months before he can talk to Chris about it, and when he does, they're both drunk. Chris apologizes for not knowing and Eduardo tries not to cry when he remembers that he'd once been a part of something more wondrous than a stupid website. The next morning meets them with a hangover and slight memory loss for which they both are thankful. Eduardo takes one look at Chris’ blond hair sticking up all over the place, the indent the table left in his cheek, and his slightly confused expression, and laughs and laughs until he can't breathe. 

There's a pillow thrown at him, and Chris', "You don't look any better, Wardo, so shut it," but his own laughter joins Eduardo's. It seems to clear the air between them, for real and completely this time, and it makes Eduardo feel lighter. Chris broaches the topic of Mark once but the look on Eduardo's face makes him swallow the words back. 

He isn't ready.

Chris sets him up on a few dates. He isn't interested until he meets Chris' friend Robert, a poli sci major with dimples and dark, curly hair. Their first date consists of arguing over the economy (Eduardo can talk extensively about the subject) and the merits of networking (social or otherwise, though Robert stays clear of the subject of a certain online networking site). Eduardo doesn't think twice when he finds himself in Robert's single, being pushed up against the wall with Robert's mouth pressed hot against his throat. 

(They end up dating for a few weeks but decide that they make better friends than lovers. Eduardo knows he can't bring himself to trust anyone, not yet, and it's not fair to Robert.) 

He graduates magna cum laude with a degree in economics. His parents show up for his graduation and his father shakes his hand, mouth set in a firm line of disapproval. Eduardo hadn't graduated with the honors or the connections his father expected. It still hurts more than Eduardo wants it to, but he finds that it matters less now than it had before. Maybe it would have made everything easier if he hadn't cared back when… The point is that he's fine with it. 

Eduardo plans a quiet dinner to celebrate with only his mother, Chris, Dustin (who came up for Chris), a few friends from his study group, and Robert attending. (His father has business commitments he can't get out of and leaves as soon as the ceremony is over. Eduardo is perfectly okay with that.) It's the first time he sees or talks to Dustin since that day he'd walked out of Facebook with the sound of Mark's breaking laptop and his own angry words echoing in his ears. 

Dustin approaches him cautiously, extending one hand that holds a wrapped present and giving Eduardo a nervous half-smile. "Congratulations, Wardo." 

Eduardo glances down at the gift, then smiles wide and pulls Dustin into a tight hug. "Thank you, Dustin." He feels more than hears the sound that Dustin makes and holds on until Dustin starts to fidget. When he pulls back, Dustin's eyes are a little shiny, his smile wobbly. "I thought--" 

He shakes his head. It's better to avoid that topic, so he wraps an arm over Dustin's shoulder and guides him to the table. 

The next day, when everyone has gone back to where they belong, Eduardo is faced with what he's supposed to do with the rest of his life. He realizes that he doesn't actually have to decide right that second, but… he needs a plan. A goal to head towards. The thought that keeps rolling through his head is the last words he'd said to Mark. 

_"Lawyer up, asshole, because I'm not coming back for thirty percent. I'm coming back for **everything.**_ "

He hadn't given the threat any real thought. The hurt had been too much. It isn't until he sits down in his empty studio apartment that he realizes he might have meant it. Time hasn't made the pain any less visceral or less humiliating, being thrown out of his own company. It hasn't helped with the instant flash of hate that he feels at the idea that Sean -- Sean _fucking_ Parker -- had helped to do it to him. It doesn't stop Eduardo from wanting to shake Mark until he admits he'd been a cruel son of a bitch, that Eduardo wasn't a throwaway fact about his life. 

Time did, however, give him a better perspective of his own behavior, and he knows without a shadow of a doubt that closing the account had been childish. He'd done it out of anger, because that was the only way to get Mark to listen sometimes. 

Did he deserve to be taken as a threat? Maybe. Did he deserve to lose his company for it? No. Not the way that he had. 

Eduardo takes a week to truly think it over before making a decision. He starts making appointments with attorneys two weeks after his graduation dinner.

\-- -- 

It takes Eduardo almost a month of meetings and lunches to find what he is looking for. Most of the attorneys he encounters seem to have their own agendas for wanting to help Eduardo: Mark's money. They don't see the bigger picture, and Eduardo is at the end of his rope when he walks into Gretchen's office. She listens to his story, what he wants, and somehow understands the real reason behind it. 

Folding her hands on top of her desk, she gives Eduardo a long, steady look, clearing her throat before saying, "You realize that you will be more than likely destroying any chance of ever recuperating your friendship, Mr. Saverin?" 

Eduardo blinks at her, scowling. "I don't want--"

She raises one hand in the air. "Make sure…" When he starts to protest, she shakes her head. "Eduardo."

He freezes and stares at her. 

Satisfied that she has his attention, she finishes her thought. "Make sure you don't want to salvage it. He took your company. You're going to sue him for it. These are things that you can't take back." 

Eduardo nods. 

"Take another week to think it over. If you still feel the same, then schedule a meeting and we'll get started on it."

He leaves Gretchen's office with his head buzzing, thoughts and feelings thrumming in his skull. His mind goes back to their time at Harvard, to late night study sessions where he made sure Mark ate at least once every eight hours through his coding tears, and bribes and threats to make him sleep. The memories were mostly good, at least before Palo Alto, and he wishes that Mark was more the heartless asshole Eduardo thought him to be. 

But he knows it isn't everything Mark had once been. 

Maybe he is at this point, but his friend with the curly hair and clear blue intelligent gaze had been more. 

Is Eduardo ready to forget all that and take Mark at face value for what he'd become? 

He gives himself more time to think it over, another month passing as he mulls it over between lunch meetings and interviews with prospective employers. Gretchen understands what he wants and her words keep coming back to him. 

_"Make sure you don't want to salvage it. He took your company. You're going to sue him for it. These are things that you can't take back."_

He understands what this will mean. But he knows he can't go down without a fight, either. Sighing, Eduardo hails a cab after another unsuccessful interview and arrives at his apartment building -- to find Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss waiting in his lobby, a lawyer at their side and court order in their hands. 

It takes him a moment to understand what they're saying, but when he does, Eduardo has to push down on a wave of rage. 

"You're suing Mark and Facebook?" 

"And you, of course." 

Eduardo raises an eyebrow, bites down on the curses that want to spill out of his mouth and grabs the envelope that Cameron hands him. "Me? I'm not a part of Facebook." 

Tyler takes a step closer and Eduardo resists the urge to retreat, straightens his shoulders and stares back. 

Cameron joins his brother and says, "Why don't we talk?" 

\-- --

This can't be Eduardo’s life. 

"Basically you need me to testify on your behalf? This is what you're saying?" Eduardo stares down at the papers in his hand, reading and rereading the words, anger churning in his stomach. He can't even…

"Why are you having such a hard time with this? He cut you off. Shouldn't you be jumping at the chance?" Tyler -- Eduardo is pretty sure it's Tyler with the temper -- leans forward, eyes narrowed, lips curled in a sneer. "You can't let that little shit win, Saverin." 

Eduardo pushes down the urge to punch the smirk off his face, throws him a bland smile instead. 

Cameron gives his brother a hard stare -- and it's so disconcerting having them sitting there side by side -- then turns to bestow a charming smile on Eduardo. "My brother tends to get a little emotional about this, you understand? We're men of Harvard. Like you are, Eduardo. We know right from wrong, we understand honor. Mark Zuckerberg doesn't. Never has."

He feels his hands close into fists as he breathes through his nose. They really don't know Mark in any way. Mark is loyal -- to Facebook. That's all that matters to him. He would never sacrifice that for getting one over on the Winklevii. "I'm not sure how my testimony could help you, Cameron. I wasn't there for most of it. Just the beginning."

"That all we need." Cameron smiles, nodding once when his brother touches his shoulder, and glances over before standing up. "We won't go ahead with filing those papers, Eduardo, until Monday morning." 

Eduardo rises to his feet, keeping his gaze locked on Cameron. "Meaning?"

"You have until then to decide whether to join us or –"

"Not."

Cameron shakes his hand, nods at Eduardo once as he says, "We know you'll do the right thing." 

He watches them walk out the lobby doors, hail a taxi and disappear into the night. Eduardo drops into the chair he'd been sitting in, leans back against the cushion and closes his eyes, head spinning. They have enough evidence to claim theft, he realizes that. The cease and desist letters, emails from Mark, promises that were broken. None of that, Eduardo knows, is enough, but-- 

They want him.

They want him to go up against Mark, help them take Mark down, and he would be lying if he said a part of him didn’t want to do just that. Hurt Mark like he'd been hurt. 

But Cameron's voice echoes in his head.

_"We're men of Harvard."_

_"We know right from wrong."_

_"We understand honor."_

Eduardo doesn't think they do. 

He runs one hand through his hair, rubbing his eyes with the other one. Eduardo knows that he could just do what the Winklevii want. 

But he isn't them.

He pulls out his phone and finds the right name, pushing the call button. It only rings once.

"Eduardo?" 

Eduardo clears his throat. "Chris. I think we have a problem." 

\-- -- 

The silence that follows his breathless rambling is long and stretches out until Eduardo is restless, fidgeting in his seat as he waits for Chris to say something... anything. 

He hears the deep intake of air and then, "I'm booking you the next flight out. You better be on that plane, Eduardo." 

"But--" 

"No. You called me because you wanted to do the right thing. You being here is the right thing. Get on the fucking plane." 

Then it's just dial tone, and Eduardo can't find a reason to call Chris back and tell him no. The decision is already made. 

He is siding with Facebook. With Chris and Dustin. 

With Mark. 

It's done. 

Packing quickly is easy enough. He grabs his traveling bag, stuffs it with underwear, a pair of jeans and couple of t-shirts, his toiletry bag, two pairs of shoes. At the last minute he pulls his garment bag down and packs two suits. He hopes he isn't gone long enough to need all the clothes, but there's a nagging voice in the back of his mind that says he's probably going to need to go shopping while in California. His laptop bag is by the door. 

He locks up, takes the elevator down, and nods at his doorman when he motions to a taxi. 

Eduardo narrates all of this in his head because he needs to. He can't think about the fact that he's about to get on a plane to help the man who broke his trust. 

He closes his eyes and forces his mind to clear away all thoughts of Mark.

One thing at a time: get on the airplane. 

\-- --

Eduardo's eyes are dry, itching as he disembarks from the plane and breathes in the stale terminal air. The flight had been packed and he'd been forced to check in his bags. He rolls his neck, tries to rub the sleep from his entire face, and heads to baggage claim. 

He steps off the escalator, checking for the correct baggage carousel, and freezes at the last second. Someone knocks into his back and he skids a few steps forward. He can't even form an apology to the person he just blocked because barely twenty steps away from him, laptop balanced on his knees, sits Mark Zuckerberg.

Eduardo is aware that he was going to have to face Mark during this whole -- whatever the hell it is they are doing -- but this is -- this was not what he -- his brain can't actually understand any of it. 

"Mark?" 

He hates the way his voice breaks in the middle of Mark's name, but it's nothing compared to the way his chest aches when Mark glances up at his name. 

He closes the laptop, cradling it in his arms as he stands and sends Eduardo a nervous half-smile. "Wardo." 

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Mark frowns, lines of confusion evident on his forehead. "I came to pick you up?" 

Eduardo blinks. 

This is not his life. 

_Now_ Mark decides he’s worth the effort. Of course he does. Eduardo is here to help him keep his precious website. The anger is so sudden that Eduardo wavers on his feet. He takes two steps toward Mark but stops when Mark shrinks back slightly and clutches his laptop tighter to his chest. 

Whatever is on his face is enough to give Mark flashbacks, and Eduardo -- he doesn't want to do that. He doesn't want to scare Mark or hurt him. It's not who he is. 

Forcing himself to calm, he swallows down the fury and breathes in deep, closing his eyes for a second before opening them again to look at Mark. "Of course you did." He can hear the bitterness in his voice and cringes. So much for keeping his anger in check. Shaking his head, he waves toward his bags and heads to the carousel. 

Mark follows without a word. 

They actually say nothing while Eduardo picks up his belongings, while they walk out of baggage claim to the parking lot, while Mark puts Eduardo's things in his trunk, while they drive out of SFO and toward Palo Alto. 

It's almost half an hour before Mark clears his throat and says, "I-- I don't know why you decided to tell us about the Winklevii." 

Eduardo rolls his eyes and snorts. "No, I suppose you wouldn't." 

He catches the way Mark's hands grip the steering wheel. "Just… I appreciate it." 

He does look over at Mark now, studies the way his face is pinched, his mouth pursed in discomfort. Mark actually means it and Eduardo isn't sure what _that_ means. He shrugs it off and turns his gaze out of the passenger side window. "It doesn't mean anything."

"That’s not true." Mark is annoyed and Eduardo's lips twitch in amusement. He always enjoyed doing that to Mark, if he was honest.

Sighing, Eduardo glances over at him, meeting Mark's flitting gaze. "I'm not you, Mark." 

Mark flinches, faintly.

There's nothing else to say. 

\-- -- 

He doesn't expect to be taken straight away to the Facebook offices, but Eduardo supposes that makes the most sense. This is a red-level emergency kind of problem, and the sooner they work to fix it, the better it will be for everyone. 

Eduardo stares up at the non-descript building he knows houses this thing that has changed the face of communication. His chest feels tight, the loss of it a little heavier now that he is looking at it. He turns to see Mark watching him, his own face completely blank, and Eduardo isn't sure what that means. He doesn't know this Mark, and a part of him -- the angry, bitter part -- doesn't really want to. Ever. 

Mark motions to the doors. "They're waiting for us." 

He doesn't know who "they" are, but he follows Mark toward the entrance, hesitating for a second before he walks in. The security guard greets Mark with a nod as he approaches. 

"Hey, Rodney." 

Eduardo's brow raises slightly. The fact that Mark knows the night security means that he spends way too much time at work, because otherwise Mark would _never_ remember his name. 

"Make sure that Mr. Saverin has full access to the building." 

Rodney nods and gives Eduardo a pleasant smile. "Welcome to Facebook, sir." 

Eduardo starts to shake his head but Mark is already moving, and he doesn't know where he needs to be so he runs to catch up. He wants to know what the hell that meant but it's not the time. He glances at his watch and is surprised that it's only one in the morning. He feels like he hasn't slept in days. 

They weave through the desks, past the night shift, and the sound of keyboards clacking makes Eduardo’s shoulders relax. It's familiar, something he used to love to be around, almost like home, and he hadn't realized he missed that until that moment. 

There's no time to ponder what that means because Mark is guiding him into a conference room, one of the few Eduardo thinks has actual walls and not glass, and before he can gather his wits, the air is forced out of his lungs by a Dustin-shaped being hugging him so tightly Eduardo swears he hears a rib crack. 

"Wardo! You came!" 

Eduardo attempts to respond, but with no air coming in, all he can manage is a loud groaning noise as he squeezes Dustin back. 

"Jesus, Dustin, let him go. Don't kill him. We just got him back," Mark says just off to Eduardo's left, and the words shock him enough that he goes limp in Dustin's hold. 

"I think you might have damaged him, Dustin." 

Dustin pulls away, manic grin on his face despite the circumstances, and Eduardo can't help but cough out a laugh as he draws in much needed oxygen. "But it's Wardo, Chris. _Wardo._ " He can't stop smiling, apparently, and it's contagious enough that Eduardo does it back. He has missed Dustin. 

He pats his friend's shoulder. "Hey, Dustin. Calm down before you hurt yourself." 

Dustin shakes him. "Wardo. This is crazy. Who would have thunk you'd be our savior?" His face blanches as he says the words and Eduardo knows his own can't be any better. "Not that you weren't -- I didn't -- shit." 

Eduardo knows. He knows that Dustin didn't make the decision, and even when he stayed with Mark, Eduardo knew it wasn't about them -- their friendship. Mark needed someone. Dustin was that person. 

"It's okay, Dustin." He tries to smile, but then he notices movement right behind Chris' shoulder and everything goes fuzzy, white noise in his head. 

Sean Parker stands up, walking toward Eduardo with that stupid smirk and his annoying face and all Eduardo can hear is all the ways Mark told him Sean was better. He remembers all the ways Sean helped to screw Eduardo. Every single moment that Eduardo felt _thislittle_ next to him. 

"I can't say I feel the--" 

Eduardo's fist connects with Sean's face seconds before Eduardo even realizes it's going to do exactly that. 

His breathing is harsh, stuttered, and he feels the ache of his hand all the way up to his shoulder, but damn it if it isn't satisfying to see Sean Parker laid out on the floor at his feet, eyes wide with shock (and a glint that Eduardo is going to ignore because he _does not_ need Sean fucking Parker's approval), a line of blood dripping from his lip.

He turns to see Dustin's mouth gaping open and Chris’ lips trying their best to stop from turning up. When he meets Mark's gaze, he takes a step away from Sean, smoothing out his shirt and raising an eyebrow. But Mark doesn't say anything more than, "Is it out of your system now?" 

Eduardo thinks for a second, then nods. "Mostly." 

"Good. Let's talk about your meeting with the Winklevii." 

\-- -- 

Eduardo lays it all out for them. 

It doesn't take a lot of time (and he doesn't wonder too much why Chris _insisted_ that Eduardo come to Palo Alto when this could have been done over the phone).

"Wait, so why did they think you'd be on board with this?" 

Eduardo glares at Sean. "Beside the fact I was screwed out of the company?"

Sean nods. "You never showed any indication that you were going to-- oh. Huh. Didn't think you had in you, Eduardo." He rubs at his jaw and smirks. "See, you should have been like this before."

Eduardo counts to ten and does not allow the fantasy of punching Sean a few more times to take him out of the conversation. "You didn't know a lot of things about me, Parker." He glances at Mark, sees the way his jaw is tense, and straightens his shoulders. "Yes, I was getting ready to sue you." 

Dustin’s face falls slightly and Eduardo sends him an apologetic look. He couldn't lie and say it wasn't personal, because that was the _only_ thing it really was, but he would have felt bad dragging Dustin and Chris into it. 

Chris and Sean accept Eduardo's statement without a word, but Mark's face is blank -- the kind Eduardo knows he uses when he's hiding disappointment -- and that makes the anger thrum through his blood. "It was my company, too, Mark. You took it without a fucking second thought." 

"You weren't here. You didn't build it from scratch," Mark snaps, and Eduardo shakes his head at that, because _what_? 

"I wasn't-- you know, why don't we focus on finding a way to keep _your_ company safe from Naranda and the Winklevosses, okay?" 

"And then what? You'll turn around and sue us?"

He shakes his head. "Plans change." 

Mark snorts. "And I'm supposed to believe you?"

Eduardo opens his mouth to tell Mark to shove it (something he has never said in his life), when Sean raises a hand.

"Shut the fuck up. This isn't helping." 

The fact that it's Sean being reasonable is enough to get Eduardo to actually shut up. 

Chris leans forward. "Surprisingly, I agree with Sean." 

"It's the end of the world," Dustin mutters and Eduardo looks over at him, catches the smile he gives him and returns it. 

"Right?"

"Whatever. You all know my idea are fucking flawless and brilliant. That's why I'm the shit." 

Chris takes a deep breath, pinches the bridge of his nose and locks eyes with Eduardo. "Are you planning to help them? Was this just a heads up before you go?" 

He can feel Mark vibrating in his seat, his glare sending heat at Eduardo, and he takes a moment to make sure the decision he made back in his apartment lobby is still the one he wants. "No. I won't be testifying for them." 

Chris nods. "Good. How long until you have to give them an answer?"

"Monday." Mark is staring at him, face unchanged, and Eduardo glares back at him. "What?" 

"I find it hard to believe you want to give up the opportunity to get the money you _deserve_ back." Mark spits the words out through clenched teeth. 

It was never about the money but he won't say that. "I can deal." He turns to Chris. "What the plan?" 

\-- --

There isn't much of a plan. 

"So, he's screwed no matter what," Dustin says as he shoves another slice of pizza into his mouth. Eduardo doesn't even know where they managed to get pizza at four in the morning. 

Chris chews on his own breakfast pizza and makes a face. "Basically. I mean, even if Eduardo doesn't agree to testify for their side, they can just subpoena him." 

"And sue me along with Facebook." 

Sean's head is resting on the table. "Can we make Eduardo sign something that makes it so he can't talk? Non-disclosure?" 

"Won't hold up in court, though. It's legal proceedings. It would be more problematic for him." Chris sighs and closes his eyes. "I don't know what to do. Sydney is trying to figure out some loophole but he wants to focus on preparing for the depositions that will likely come." 

Mark hasn't said a word in almost an hour, so when he finally speaks, Eduardo jumps a little. 

"Everyone but Eduardo, out." 

They all stare at him. 

"You heard me. Out." 

Chris gives Eduardo a sympathetic smile as he wrangles Dustin and Sean out of the doors. When they close the door behind them, Eduardo turns toward Mark. 

"There's only one solution to this." 

Eduardo stares up at Mark's eyes, shuttered and wary as they lock with his. His stomach churns as he asks the question. 

"What is that exactly?" 

"We need to get married." 

The room starts to shrink, walls closing in, and Eduardo shakes his head because he's pretty sure he didn't just hear Mark say that he… that they…

Eduardo breathes through his panic because there's nothing else to do with what Mark just said. He shakes his head, ignores the way his heart stuttered over a few of its beats, and stares at Mark. 

"Excuse me?" 

He sees Mark's face get that pinched, annoyed look it does when he has to repeat himself, but he does it anyway. Repeats what Eduardo thought he'd said. 

"Marry me."

Eduardo starts to laugh. 

\-- --

It takes Eduardo a good ten minutes to compose himself enough to realize that Mark is completely serious. The scowl on his face tells him that much. 

"Mark, have you gone crazy?" 

"Look, Chris and I--"

" _Chris?_ Chris is in on this?" 

Mark glares at him, nodding. "It's the easiest way. They can't make you testify against your spouse." 

Eduardo's ears are ringing. "Won't it look suspicious if we end up getting married, Mark?" He watches the way Mark’s gaze flits around the room and Eduardo isn't sure he wants to hear what it is Mark doesn't want to say. "There's more." 

"Chris has a friend -- Basically, we can get married to make sure it's legal, and Chris will make it seem as if we've been married for some time." 

"Isn't that falsifying documents?" 

Mark shakes his head. "No, just dates, really. And, no, it won't be illegal, because the suit hasn't even been filed yet. It won't count." 

Eduardo stares at him, heart racing in his chest, and something tugs at him, the agreement on the tip of his tongue and he doesn't understand why. Why he wants this as badly as he seems to. It's a lie, all of it. Mark hurt him, took away their company, his friendship and left him. Left him alone. Eduardo doesn't know what to feel. 

Before he can speak, however, Mark does. "We'll have to stay married for a respectable amount of time. Chris says a year, but we can get an annulment when the time is up." 

Eduardo's head is spinning and he can't think of anything to say. 

"You'll get compensated." 

He glances up at Mark then. "Excuse me?" 

Mark shrugs. "There's no time for a prenup, Wardo. You'll get half of everything I own. Half of my part of Facebook." Eduardo frowns but Mark turns away from him, pulling up some forms on his computer. "It's what you want and I never cared about the money." 

It's on the tip of Eduardo's tongue to say he didn't either, but he can't bring himself to be that open with Mark, to let him know what he really wants. Hell, _Eduardo_ doesn't even know what he wants. "Half of everything?" 

Mark's shoulders slump forward slightly, and when he throws a look over his shoulder at Eduardo, it's guarded, cold. "You decided to help us. It's worth it." 

Facebook has always been worth everything to Mark. Eduardo knows that. 

He looks at the closed door. "And it's the only way?" 

"The only one that's quick enough to be efficient, yes."

He should say no. He should walk out of that office and go home. He should call Gretchen and tell her that he wants to proceed with the suit. 

"Okay." 

Mark's head jerks up, wariness shining in his eyes. "Okay?" 

"I'll marry you, Mark." 

\-- -- 

"No one but Chris can know that--"

"Yes, I understand. We have to pretend this was something we did when we-- before."

Mark’s mouth twitches at the corners. "Kids do stupid things, don't they?"

Eduardo locks his gaze with Mark's. "Like get married without telling anyone?"

"Among other things." 

He doesn't care to know what that means. 

\-- -- 

The process is supposed to be way easier than Eduardo would have expected. They'll get blood work done and processed, file their application and be at City Hall before lunch to see the justice of the peace. 

Dustin and Sean stroll back in with Chris trailing behind them. He meets Eduardo's stare, nodding in question, and Eduardo does the same in response. He seems relieved, the worry that's been etching across Chris' face easing some, and that's something. Eduardo doesn't really hear the excuses that Mark makes to Dustin and Sean. They decide to have a meeting with Thiel and a few other prominent investors, shareholders that afternoon.

Enough time for Mark and Eduardo to get hitched. 

Eduardo grips the edge of the table at the thought but he can't back out. This is -- he wants to prove that he can take care of his end of this bargain. _Half of everything._

Dustin and Sean seem put off by Mark's insistence that they go home to rest. 

"Since when do you let us sleep when we're in crisis, Mark?" Dustin asks, eyeing them suspiciously. 

Sean agrees. "Yeah. You're like a fucking robot, Mark. No way is this normal behavior for you."

Eduardo glares at Sean. Mark wasn't a robot and he hated when someone called him that. Not that Mark was the greatest human in the world, but he wasn’t a goddamn machine. 

"Um, Wardo. You're, like, growling at Sean, man." 

He blinks, turning to look at Dustin, and has the shame to blush a little. "I was clearing my throat." 

Chris hides a laugh behind a cough, looking over Eduardo toward Mark. Eduardo doesn't want to see what Mark might be doing so he keeps his gaze aimed out the window. The morning is going from light gray to blue and he wonders if he has time to make a call. 

Mark convinces Sean and Dustin to leave, Eduardo has no idea how, then pulls Chris to a corner. They seem to be having a heated discussion. He's pretty sure he knows why. It's as good a time as ever to do what he has to. He pulls his phone out, scrolling through his recent calls until he finds the number he needs. Taking a deep breath before hitting the call button, he closes his eyes as he waits for the line to be picked up. 

"Olá, meu querido menino." 

"Olá, mãe." He realizes how early it is in Miami and cringes. "I'm sorry. I woke you up, didn't I?" 

His mother’s laugh is light and sweet, makes Eduardo's churning stomach ease slightly. "Of course not. Your father has an early flight today. I have been up for some time to make sure it goes smoothly." Eduardo hears the warmth in her tone and smiles despite his own complicated feelings about his father. 

His father loving his mother is never anything Eduardo has doubted. 

"I won't keep you long. There's something I need to tell you. I wanted you to know first before you read it or heard it from anyone else." 

"What is it, filho meu?" 

Eduardo closes his eyes and lies to his mother. "The news and -- you're going to hear about my marriage, mãe."

"Your-- what, Eduardo? Your marriage?" 

"Yes. I-- it was a mistake. It happened a while ago but-- it's going to become public soon and I didn't want you to get caught unprepared about it." 

His mother is silent for several seconds, but when she does speak again, her tone is gentle. "It's that boy, isn't it? Mark?" 

Eduardo shakes his head. How in the world -- 

"Yes. How did you know?" Because _what what what_? 

"I remember how you talked about him, namorado. Your heartbreak when he hurt you." Her voice is steely as she talks about Mark. "I do not think he deserves you." 

"Mãe, por favor. This is not the time. I have to take care of some errands, but I will call in a few days to give you more details." 

"Eduardo, you should speak to your father." 

"No. I don't need to hear what he has to say. I already know what that will be." 

"He might surprise you." 

"I'm not sure that's true, mãe." He turns to see Mark standing behind him, curious eyes falling on Eduardo's face. "I have to go. Eu te amo." 

"Eu também te amo garoto, doce. Be careful." 

"I will. Adeus, mamãe." He presses the end call button as he turns to face Mark. "I wanted to warn my mother. This isn't going to stay quiet very long." 

Mark shakes his head. "I doubt that." He pauses a moment before meeting Eduardo's gaze. "What did your father say?" 

"I didn't speak with him." 

Mark looks surprised, one eyebrow raised. "Isn't he going to be angry that you didn't?"

Eduardo meets his gaze. "He's always upset about one thing or another. I can't be bothered to worry about that right now. 

"You always needed his approval," Mark says simply. Eduardo understands it's not an insult. It just a fact and Mark is good at stating those. 

Eduardo shrugs. "That was before."

Mark nods then motions behind him to where Chris is speaking on the phone. "Chris thinks he can get a JOP to meet us at the house. He'll be the witness." 

That seems a better plan than the two of them striding into City Hall where anyone could recognize them. It would blow the whole "we've been married forever" part of the plan. 

"Fine. Let's do this." 

\-- --

Everything is taken care of in the blink of an eye. Apparently, Chris has connections with a doctor and someone in the city's hall of records. They get all the paperwork taken care of quietly and quickly. The JOP arrives a little before noon and starts the proceedings once he sees to the validity of their certificate. 

He instructs Mark and Eduardo to stand in front of him while Chris waits silently in the background. Eduardo imagines they make quite a sight, with Mark in his hoodie and flip-flops, while he fidgets in a wrinkled suit. He hasn't slept in more than thirty hours, so when the JOP asks him to take Mark's hand, he does. 

Mark blinks at him but doesn't remove his hand from Eduardo's. 

It's like every scene he's ever seen in a movie (though he can't ever recall seeing anything quite like this in any of them). He repeats his vows as he is asked to -- they are the common "Do you take Mark to be your legal husband?"-- watches the way Mark's mouth moves as he does the same, and then he's looking at the JOP's amused gaze. 

"I'm sorry, what?" 

"Rings?"

"Oh." Eduardo looks at Mark, who shrugs and shakes his head. They forgot rings. 

"I've got them." 

Chris steps up, smiling wanly at them as he drops a ring in each of their hands. They are simple, silver bands, nothing extravagant. 

"Good. Exchange rings, please." 

Eduardo fits the ring on Mark’s finger, his own fumbling with nerves, and lingers at the warmth of his hand. He glances up to see Mark's face flushed slightly pink and bites back a smile. It's nice to know that Mark isn't immune to nerves. He lifts his hand for his ring and then tangles his fingers with Mark's after he's placed it on. He purposely doesn't look at Mark and waits as the JOP goes through his last part of the ceremony. 

"By the power vested in me by the State of California, I now pronounce you husbands." The JOP gives them an encouraging smile. "You can kiss now." 

Eduardo glances back at Mark, who seems to have retreated behind a blank wall, and something inside his chest clenches. He leans forward, pulling to get Mark closer, and then his lips are pressed against Mark’s. Mark's breath hitches almost imperceptibly and Eduardo swipes his tongue against Mark's lips before pulling away. He watches Mark's eyes open, dark blue, and can't seem to breathe. 

"Congratulations." 

He turns to look at Chris, who seems amused for whatever reason, and nods. "Thanks." 

Mark leaves the room. 

 

\-- -- 

 

Eduardo isn't sure how or why, but his life doesn't become the hell he imagined it would being married to Mark Zuckerberg. Strangely enough, it's not even that different than how it was when they'd been friends, back at Harvard, at the beginning.

Except for how Mark is a lot richer and Eduardo is a lot more cynical. 

Otherwise, it's almost the same. Mark codes. Eduardo runs around reorganizing his life and schedule. Facebook gets bigger and bigger. Dustin flails and makes bad jokes. Chris tries not to kill them all. 

The first two days are the worst, if mostly for two reasons: the first being Dustin's face when they reveal they'd gotten married and never told him -- more than a little heartbreaking. 

"BUT HOW COULD YOU?"

Eduardo has never met anyone else who talks in all caps the way Dustin does. He throws his hands in the air and frowns so hard that Eduardo is afraid he might actually cause serious damage to his face muscles. 

"It was-- I don't know, Dustin." He looks at Mark for assistance, only to find him typing away at his laptop. 

"They were drunk. Really drunk." 

Dustin rolls his eyes and huffs. "That doesn't excuse not telling us, Chris." 

"What does it matter, Dustin? It's not like we missed anything. They got married, then it all went to hell, right? They haven't been together for three years. It's probably better we didn't know." 

Eduardo is in awe of the ease in which Chris tells everyone the story of Eduardo and Mark's apparent drunken, crazy night of nuptials. He doesn't want to know how or where Chris actually found a wedding chapel (a _twenty-four hour_ wedding chapel) in San Francisco that was willing to falsify dates to make the story legit for when it hit the press. (Eduardo wouldn't be surprised if Chris already has the story ready to be published -- he is a stealthy ninja.) 

Dustin turns accusing eyes at Mark, pointing a finger at him. "And you!" 

Mark’s plugged in, completely unaware of Dustin's anger. 

"Hey, Mark!" Dustin yells, making a face that’s half anger, half pout, and slings an empty water bottle (at least Eduardo hopes it's empty as it flies across the room) at the back of Mark's head. 

Turning back to scowl at Dustin, he saves his work without looking at the screen and hisses an angry, "What, Dustin?" 

"I thought you were an asshole when you'd kicked your _best friend_ out of our company, but _dude._ Your husband? What kind of just-- seriously, Mark? Your _husband?!"_

Chris wipes a hand over his face, and Eduardo realizes he hadn't really anticipated what this fake marriage would do to Mark's already frayed reputation. 

Mark looks lost for a moment, staring at Chris, then Eduardo. 

Eduardo isn’t able to handle that. 

"Dustin, I was the one that closed that account. I forced him into that decision a little. We screwed up. Don't blame Mark." 

Dustin turns on him. "And were you _dating_ Christy while you were married?!"

Crap.

"I wasn't-- I broke it off!" 

Disgusted with both of them, Dustin leaves the room, pausing to look back as he reaches the door, and saying, "That at least explains all the drama and why you were so angry with each other, though." 

Eduardo thinks that was surely the worst part.

But then…

Reason number two: Sean Parker. 

"I fucking _knew_ it! Didn't I call them having a thing, Chris? You kept denying and saying it wasn't like that, but I _told_ you." 

Mark stares at Chris and Sean. "You talked about my relationship with Eduardo?" 

Chris gives him a pointed look. 

"Hells yeah! I kept telling Chris that Eduardo’s irrational hatred for me had to stem from something other than, well, me. I mean, I am the _shit_." 

Eduardo rolls his eyes. "You are definitely something having to do with shit, Sean." 

Sean waves his hands in Eduardo's direction and grins. "See, he hated me because he thought I was stealing you away. Which, man, had you told me he was your partner, husband, whatever, things would have gone down a totally different way. I am all about true love, yo." 

Eduardo is the one to get up and leave at this point. 

\-- --

Chris manages to get his belongings sent to Mark's-- _their_ house, and Eduardo spends the second day of his marriage unpacking and moving into the guest bedroom. 

He's pleased at the house Mark chose to live in. A large three bedroom with a huge backyard equipped with a pool (it seemed that all California houses came standard with those) and a patio for entertaining (which Eduardo was sure Mark was not inclined to do), a kitchen that makes his heart speed up with all the space it has (he loves to cook), and the best entertainment center Eduardo’s seen in a long while.

He likes the house, even if it doesn't seem like anyone actually lives there. The only room besides Mark's bedroom that has any real living in it is the office. It doesn't surprise Eduardo. Mark is a workaholic, always has been, so Eduardo's definitely not shocked. 

He doesn't see Mark in the three days between their impromptu ceremony and when he finally makes the call he's actually been looking forward to. He dials the number from the card he'd kept in his wallet and waits for the ringing to stop. The voice on the other line is gruff but polite. 

"Hello?" 

"Cameron. It's Eduardo. Saverin." _Zuckerberg._

"Eduardo. I'm glad to hear from you. My brother and I were just discussing our proposition. Does this call mean you've decided to back the winning team, this time?" Cameron sounds amused and Eduardo makes a face into the phone. 

He's definitely picked the winning team. 

"If you mean you, then no." 

There's a long silence, and he glances at the door as it opens to reveal an exhausted Mark. Eduardo frowns at the sight. Something must have happened during the night. 

"I think I heard you wrong, Eduardo." 

"No, I'm sure you haven't. I'm not testifying for you, Cameron. I will not be suing Facebook." 

"You just made a mistake, Saverin." 

Oh, it was Saverin, now. "I'm going to have to disagree. Goodbye, Cameron." He hangs up the call and meets Mark's tired but amused stare. "That was Cameron Winklevoss. I don't think he's happy with me." 

Mark almost smiles. "Good." 

"Hmm." Eduardo tilts his head to one side. "You look -- and I say this as kindly as I can -- like shit, Mark." He reaches for Mark's laptop case and guides him toward the stairs, shoving him gently. "Get some sleep, Mark."

Mark doesn't argue. 

Eduardo knows that means he's practically half-dead from exhaustion. He watches Mark rub at his eyes, stifling a yawn as he heads up, and doesn't find that at all endearing. Especially not Mark's, "Night, Wardo," as he stumbles into his bedroom.

He squashes the thought. It wouldn't do for Eduardo to start thinking of anything Mark does as adorable.

\-- -- 

The suit hits Mark and Facebook two days after Eduardo's quick chat with Cameron Winklevoss. 

Mark doesn't come home that night. 

The next day, Gretchen calls him from her office in Los Angeles. (He knew he’d been smart to retain her as his attorney.) 

"I think we need to have a meeting, Eduardo. I'd like to understand how it is _you're_ being sued over Facebook.”

Eduardo makes an appointment to see her that afternoon.

He calls Mark to let him know.

"They're planning to sue you?" 

"We figured they might."

"But you have nothing to do with it." His voice is low, steady, and Eduardo knows that means he is _really_ angry. 

"Technically, I do. Don't worry about it, okay?" 

Mark is silent and Eduardo can hear the chaos in the background. He doesn't need Mark to worry about him. The focus should be on his own lawsuit. 

"Hey. It's all right. You take care of Facebook. I'll be fine." 

Mark sighs. "Are you going to be-- will you come over after your appointment?" 

Eduardo tries not to smile. "I will." 

"Okay." 

"Bye." 

He hangs up and heads to his bedroom to change.

\-- -- 

Eduardo leaves the preparation for the deposition of his case to Gretchen and tries not to think too hard about it. There's not much the Winklevosses can get from him, but if they want to drag him into proceedings, Eduardo will let them. Mark is barely around for the next few weeks. He comes home at odd hours, looking more and more frazzled, making Eduardo want to -- god help him -- hug him until he stops looking so tense. He doesn't think Mark would appreciate that, though, so he does what he can. He makes sure Magda, Mark's-- their housekeeper, changes Mark's sheets every other day. He cooks hot meals on the days he's sure Mark will come home to sleep and manages to take food to Mark at the office on the days he doesn't. 

Sometimes he's there when Mark arrives and lets Mark talk at him until he manages to wind down enough that he lets Eduardo tuck him into bed. 

Eduardo finds he likes those times the best. 

Their marriage is common knowledge among the staff, so it slips Eduardo's mind that most of the world doesn't know until he wakes up one morning to a phone full of voicemails and texts. He looks at the first one from Chris and tries not to panic.

 _It's public. Don't leave the house._

He can't imagine that it would be as big a deal as that, but when he pulls back the curtains of the living room windows, he is almost blinded by the flashes of cameras. He backs away, trying to figure out the best option he has to get out of there and into the offices. 

His phone beeps a text and he looks down, rolling his eyes.

Sean. 

_your love is all over the news, wardo. turn on the tv. cnn. msnbc. e!news. shit, boy._

He texts back: _Stop watching television and go do your job, Sean._

_but you have to watch this. it's fucking glorious, wardo. like they are naming you guys the couple to root for._

_Stay out of it, Sean, or I will hurt you. Again._

He does turn the TV on, shaking his head at the ridiculous story they have about him and Mark. There are pictures from when they were at Harvard, a few from their early days in Palo Alto (those are mostly of Mark), and some that seem fairly new, probably taken in the last few weeks by some pap who thought it would be worth something. He must be cleaning up right now. The banner reads, _Tragic Love Story?_ \-- with a question mark at the end -- and talks about the reconciliation between the estranged couple. 

His phone beeps once more and Eduardo glances down at it, smirking as he reads. 

_whoa, okay, that was fucking creepy. exactly what your hubby said._

Eduardo turns the television off and decides he needs to find a way to occupy his time.

\-- -- 

The Winklevii's suit against Eduardo falls flat on its face within a month of its filing. They have no actual substance to it, and with Mark backing Eduardo up with whatever he needs, it's clear they won't win on his end. They drop the suit and Eduardo is grateful. 

Mostly because now Mark can concentrate on his own and not worry so much.

The shock of their secret marriage wears off after a couple of weeks when some Hollywood starlet is caught with her stepson or something equally insane. 

Mark and Eduardo are equally relieved and a little disappointed. 

But life goes on. 

Eduardo makes sure to be at the offices as often as he can between going to interviews of his own. He wants to start working, misses using his head to find the right investment, the figures coming together and making sense, the rush of knowing he's found what his clients need. 

He and Mark barely get a chance to talk, which Eduardo thinks might be for the best. He knows that eventually, when everything else is settled, they'll need to. Not just about the annulment but about everything that happened. About where they stand now. He wants to tell Mark that he didn't mean the things he'd done. Part of him wants Mark to do the same, but he's pretty sure that won't happen. 

Right now, he just wants to make sure Mark doesn't collapse from going non-stop trying to keep Facebook moving along and keep the Winklevii at bay. 

Mark is sitting at his desk and Eduardo watches as he keeps shifting his shoulders and neck in discomfort. Sighing, he sets aside the offer he'd been looking at, walks to stand behind Mark and places his hands on Mark's shoulders, pressing into the muscle with his thumbs. "Mark, take a break." 

Mark's head leans forward and he sighs deeply. "I have to finish this coding. We're behind with all of it, thanks to all the prepping Sydney has us doing for the depositions." He lets out a satisfied moan when Eduardo massages down his arms. 

Eduardo swallows hard at the noise, ignores the heat pooling at the base of his spine. "When was the last time you ate anything? Red Bull does not count." 

Mark snorts, opening his eyes as he leans back to look at Eduardo. "Do you mother everyone to death, Wardo? Or am I special?"

He wants to bend down and kiss Mark. 

The thought shocks him so utterly that he stops breathing for a few seconds. 

"I was kidding, Wardo." 

Mark's amused at him and it's so much more than he expected from him. This whole farce is getting to his head. 

He's about to respond when Sean walks through the door, stopping when he sees them, before grinning. "I thought the handbook prohibits sexual acts in the workplace." 

Eduardo lets go of Mark's shoulders. He will not let Sean bait him. Not that he tries to on purpose anymore. Even Eduardo can admit that much. 

"What do you want, Sean?" Mark is somewhere between irritated and amused, which is basically the general reaction one has to Sean.

"I was actually looking for your husband, Mark." Sean leans against the table and points directly at Eduardo. "What is this that I hear of you getting an offer from Goldman Sachs?" 

Mark swivels his chair around to look at Eduardo. "What?" 

Eduardo suppresses a groan. He'd been waiting for a good time to mention to Mark that he was going back to work. "I haven't agreed to it yet, but they want me to work out of the Frisco offices. Nothing huge but the offer is good." 

"Why?" 

Mark doesn't seem pleased.

"I need to work, Mark." 

"But you-- there's Facebook."

"Which is your company." 

Mark scowls. "We're married. It's _our_ company." 

Sean is watching carefully from his position in front of Mark's desk, and Eduardo tries to ignore his presence as he says, "Oh, now it's our company." 

"Don't start that." 

"You kicked me out, Mark!" 

"Because you weren't here! You didn't want to be here! I asked you to come." 

Eduardo closes his eyes. "No, you demanded I come. That I give up _every_ dream I had for yours." 

Mark's mouth turns into a hard, angry line. "I thought it was your-- you said you wanted to do this with me." 

The words are said in a quiet, almost sad tone, and all of Eduardo's fight leaks out of him. He takes a step closer to Mark. "I did want to, but-- we didn't see--" He realizes that Sean hasn't left the room and closes his mouth with a snap. It's one thing to let Mark know that he felt partially responsible for what went down between them, but it's another to give that kind of ammo to Sean. 

Sean starts laughing and Eduardo is going to put his fist through his mouth this time. 

"This is fucking hysterical. You built this entire form of communication and the two of you can't even have one conversation. For reals, I don't know what to do with the two of you."

"You could come back to work at Facebook." 

Eduardo’s head whips around to Mark, meeting his eyes, and he gives Mark a small smile. It means a lot that he wants to do that, but…

"Mark. Thank you, but I don't think it would be a good idea." 

"Why not?" Mark's tone is as close to petulant as Eduardo thinks Mark would ever allow, and it makes the corner of his mouth turn up. 

"Because I don't fit here." It's hard to say the words, surprises Mark and Sean when he does, but Eduardo always strives to be honest. "Your vision for Facebook doesn't include me anymore. I don't think it ever did." He manages to say that last part without choking on it. Sean nods his head and Eduardo rolls his eyes because he doesn't need his help here, thank you. 

"That's stupid." 

"Mark." 

"What, Eduardo? It is stupid. You understand what I want, what Facebook means, so I don't understand why--"

"And exactly what would I be doing here? Sean's job?" 

Mark has the decency to look slightly shamefaced at Sean. "It's a big job." 

Eduardo feels his eyes go wide as he shakes his head fervently. "No. No way. I am not working with Sean." He looks over to see Sean shrug his shoulders, not offended in the least, and for once Eduardo is glad the guy is like Teflon. "So, I appreciate the offer, your show of faith, and I thank you, but no." 

Mark makes a frustrated noise, his brow going all furrowed, and Eduardo ignores the way his fingers ache to smooth it out. It's really sweet of Mark. He feels bad for saying no but he also knows they can't work together. He cringes when he catches the time and remembers neither of them have eaten. Without thinking, just an impulse he doesn't think about, Eduardo steps up to Mark's chair. "Hey." He touches Mark's chin to make him look up, notices the way Mark stops breathing before he meets his eyes. "I'm going to grab you some food, okay? No. Do not argue. You're eating, Mark." He drops a kiss on Mark's forehead, his eyes falling to Mark's mouth before realizing what he's doing. 

Eduardo makes an effort not to think about Mark's face or mouth or neck or anything like that. 

"I'm going home." 

He can feel Sean's smirk as he heads out but doesn't look back. 

He can't handle whatever he might see.

\-- -- 

A couple of days later, Chris stops Eduardo and has him sign some papers. "What are these?" he asks as he does, thinking that maybe he should have done that before he put pen to paper. He should know better. 

"It's your shares." 

Eduardo stops. "My what?"

"Shares. You're married to Mark. You own half the company. He thought you should have the shares. Twenty-five percent." 

He shakes his head. "No. That's-- when we get the annulment-- Chris, not that much."

Chris sighs. "I figured you'd say that." He rips the papers in his hand up, pulling out a second set and handing them to Eduardo. "This gives you ten percent." 

Eduardo reads it over and nods. "Okay." Signing, he looks up at Chris who is watching him carefully.

"You know your name is on his accounts, too. He-- you deserve to access everything that he has, Wardo. It's yours, too." 

Eduardo doesn't say anything. 

\-- -- 

Living with Mark isn't what Eduardo expected. A lot about their life together isn't what he expects, to be honest. 

Mark works odd hours and isn't home as often as Eduardo. But when he is there Eduardo likes it. Mark had learned how to cook in the intervening years since they'd stopped being friends. The first time Mark actually made Eduardo pasta, he'd almost fallen out of his seat.

It was surprisingly delicious. 

They make good use of the patio and backyard, setting up their laptops to work in the evenings. The fresh air helps Eduardo to concentrate, strangely enough. Their routine ends up being outside with a bottle of wine, the soft sounds of music playing from inside (which Eduardo gets to pick out because Mark is almost always plugged in), their legs stretched out on the furniture. 

Sometimes Eduardo convinces Mark to watch a movie with him from Mark's huge collection. Not that Mark has seen any. He tells Eduardo that most of them came from Dustin and he just keeps them around for when he visits. 

"It keeps him occupied. Dustin bored is hell, Wardo." 

They start doing movie nights on Fridays, and while Mark is usually coding, he tries to give the movie a minimal amount of attention, scorning the stupid stories as he shakes his head. Eduardo tunes him out most of the time. Mark always ends up with his feet in Eduardo's lap, head falling to rest on the cushions while he sleepily types away. 

Eduardo's heart stutters a strange beat when he looks at Mark's face, lit up by the light of the screen. 

Mark talks to Eduardo about the future of Facebook cautiously at first, but when it becomes obvious that it’s okay with him, he goes into the member usage problems, privacy issues, the constant pull of change that keeps him from being satisfied with it. 

Eduardo starts to confide in Mark about his dream to work with more start-ups. "I don't know if I can do it, but I want to try." 

Mark is quiet for a long time, then says, sullen but honest, "I think that could be good for you." 

He hides his smile and turns back to finish watching the movie. 

\-- -- 

One day Dustin stops him on his way back from Mark's office and asks, "Have you forgiven him?"

It shocks him to realize that he has. "Yes." 

Dustin's smile is blinding and his hug crushes the air out of Eduardo's lungs.

\-- -- 

They get hit with a bug that takes Facebook down and has Mark out of his mind for three days. Eduardo's learned enough in the four months that he's been married to Mark (and that will never not make his stomach flip-flop) to know that nothing, not a damn thing will make Mark leave his office until he's ready. 

He eases back on the interviews, meets with Gretchen for lunch to thank her for everything she's done for him (and avoids her bemused smiles when he talks about Mark), and manages to finalize plans to bring the rest of his things from New York. He had sublet his apartment and it's all gathering dust in storage. 

He makes sure to bring food for Mark at every mealtime, ignoring the goofy eyes Dustin makes at him every time he sees him. 

"You are the best wife in the world, Eduardo." He ruffles his hair as he walks back to his own office and sits for hours on end without moving until they fix the internal error Eduardo knows they found thanks to Chris' email. Dustin makes fun of Mark but he's every bit the workaholic himself. 

Eduardo makes a mental note to make sure Dustin's assistant is keeping him fed. He walks through the almost silent floor -- except for the sound of fingers flying across the keyboards -- and right up to Mark's office. His assistant, Sharon, is standing in front of his desk being ignored by Mark. Eduardo smiles as she stands there until Mark actually looks up, and hands him two bottles of water. 

Eduardo likes Sharon. She's way too smart to be working as an assistant, but Mark is a challenge, and Eduardo thinks she likes that about her job. 

Mark's eyes are clouded over with coding and he swipes the bottles from Sharon's hands, opening one to take a long swallow before capping it and turning back to his computer. Sharon turns to catch Eduardo in the doorway and smiles in relief. "Thank God. He didn't eat the lunch you brought and refuses to stop for any food now. He's in your hands." 

Eduardo closes the door behind her, sets the food just near enough that Mark will smell it. It's a test to see how hungry Mark is. If the food actually distracts him then Eduardo will sit on him until he eats every last bite. He takes a seat on the couch Mark has in his office, pulling his phone out to take a look at a few emails he's gotten from some start-ups he's been looking at. 

It takes ten minutes for Mark's hands to slow down, and Eduardo sees him glance over at the food. He starts to turn back but Eduardo isn't having any of that. He stands and the movement catches Mark’s attention. His eyes light up when he sees Eduardo and it sends a thrill down his spine. He motions for Mark to take off his headphones, and when he has, he says, "You're eating. Save and let's get to it." 

Mark glares at him and starts to argue but Eduardo shakes his head. 

"No. Mark, you need to eat. If you keel over from exhaustion and hunger, then where will you guys be? They need you awake and working, right? My compromise for you not coming home for the last two days is this." 

"You do realize you sound like--"

"If you say _nagging wife_ , I might break another one of your electronics." 

Mark's lips twitch up with amusement and he rolls his eyes, reaching for the plate at his elbow. Eduardo can see the mocking that's going on in Mark's head, but whatever. Mark is eating. That's all that matters.

\-- -- 

Eduardo's leaving Mark's office when Chris stops him halfway down the hall and pulls him into a conference room. 

"You need to help keep Sean distracted." 

Eduardo blinks. "Excuse me?"

"Look, we're in crisis here with Facebook crashing, trying to fix the bug, not to mention the depositions coming up in a few weeks, and we can't have Sean running around this office distracting the programmers, assistants, _Mark._ Keep him entertained." 

"You want me to-- I hate the guy, Chris." 

Chris shrugs. "Yeah, but he likes you." 

Eduardo has no idea when or how that happened, but it’s a scary truth he's been dealing with for a couple of months. Sean likes Eduardo in that same _I need to teach you the ways of life, grasshopper_ way he liked Mark. If he’d thought that Sean was annoying before when he'd disliked Eduardo right back, it was nothing compared to being considered his buddy. 

He wants to argue, but Chris is under enough stress, and if doing this gives them some room to work then he can do it. 

Eduardo grabs Sean by the collar (he finds him flirting aggressively with one of the newer programmers) and stuffs him into his car. They drive to a nearby bar where most of the Facebook employees go after particularly hard days (Eduardo imagines the place is going to be hopping in the next couple of days) and he orders Sean to shut up and sit.

He buys the first round and lets Sean's constant chatter (because he'll sit but Eduardo knows nothing is ever going to get the man to _shut the hell up_ ) flow over him. Sean talks about a few of the customers that walk in the door. His knowledge of their lives is a little frightening, but Eduardo knows that Sean has his hands in a lot of different pots. It's why Mark found him invaluable and still does. 

They sit there for a couple of hours and Eduardo gets hit on five times. Sean watches him every time he smiles politely and shows them his ring, flattered but taken, thanks. After one particularly insistent girl tries to climb him, he mentions that his _husband_ wouldn't be too happy with him and could she please take her hand off his thigh. Sean hugs him tightly, slurring into Eduardo’s cheek, "Man, you are awesome, Wardo." 

Eduardo raises an eyebrow as he turns to give Sean an incredulous look. "Yeah. I think you've had enough." He motions at the bartender for the bill and tries to keep Sean from falling on his ass. 

"I didn't know," Sean says mournfully as Eduardo buckles him into his seat. "I wouldn't have encouraged him to do it, Wardo." 

Eduardo's hands tighten on the steering wheel. "Sean?"

"Yeah?" 

"For once do what I ask and stop talking, okay?" 

Sean stares at him and Eduardo can see from the corner of his eye as Sean's mouth drops open. "Oh, dude. You don't know? How do you _not_ know?" 

"Sean. Shut. Up." 

Sean stares at him, then nods as if he's come to a decision. "Right." Then promptly his head lolls to the side and he passes out before Eduardo can even wonder if he should ask what the hell he'd meant.

\-- -- 

Mark doesn't come home for another thirty hours, but when he staggers in the door at two in the morning, Eduardo is on the couch, reading through a proposal. He hears the key in the lock, and Dustin is holding Mark up as he enters. 

Eduardo drops his papers and takes Mark from Dustin, shoving Dustin in the direction of the couch while he climbs the stairs carefully. Mark hides his face in Eduardo's neck, nose rubbing softly at the skin there, and he has to concentrate not to let go of Mark. 

"Wardo." 

Eduardo swallows hard. "Hmm?" 

"You smell nice." 

"That's cause you've spent three days in an office with people who haven't bathed in as long.” 

Mark hums. "No. You always smell nice.” 

He closes his eyes, shoving at Mark's bedroom door with his foot and doing his best to lay Mark down on the bed as gently as possible. Mark is half asleep, so Eduardo indulges and runs his hand through Mark's messy curls. He leans down to speak into Mark's ear. "Stay here. I'll be right back." 

Mark makes an assenting sort of noise. 

He walks back down and finds Dustin asleep face down on the couch. Chuckling quietly, Eduardo finds an extra blanket and pillow in the linen closet (Magda is a goddess) and tucks Dustin in. He picks up the papers he'd been reading, setting them aside to finish later, and locks the house up, turning lights off as he heads back up the stairs. 

Mark is exactly where he left him, and Eduardo takes a minute to take him in, watching the way sleep eases his features, softens them so that he looks more like the boy he met a long time ago. Something sparks sharp in his gut, makes his hands itch with a want he ignores every day. 

He wants to touch Mark. All the time. 

It's complicated enough already without bringing Eduardo’s stupid, annoying feelings into it. 

Shaking it off, Eduardo makes his way to the bed and begins to undress Mark, concentrating on the task and not how it makes his cock half-hard to have Mark warm and sleepy under his fingers. He sets the flip-flops neatly next to the bed, unzips Mark's shorts, pulling them down and off. It's easy with Mark so pliant, and before Eduardo knows it, he has Mark in his boxers. 

He hesitates before waking him up but he can't move him on his own. "Mark." 

"Hmm."

"I need you to get under the covers."

Mark follows the instructions without complaint. Eduardo pulls away when Mark’s hands reach for his and he sighs quietly. "Come to bed, Wardo." 

He remembers those words from before. Sometimes Eduardo would stay with Mark in his bed after a long coding binge because he was too tired to go back to his dorm and Mark wanted him there. 

This is completely different. 

He touches Mark's cheek. "Not right now. Go to sleep." 

Mark snuffles and Eduardo expects him to wake up, but he burrows down further and is out in the next second. 

Eduardo drops a kiss on his temple before leaving the room, closing the door and leaning against it. 

He wants to stay. 

He knows he can't.

\-- --

He expects awkwardness in the morning, half afraid Mark will remember that Eduardo said no and won't understand why, but it's actually the complete opposite. Dustin makes pancakes and messes up their kitchen completely. (They are so going to have to give Magda a raise.) Mark laughs more openly than Eduardo has seen him in a long while, and when they lock eyes, he gives him a dimpled smile that sets his heart racing. 

Mark wants to be at the office but Eduardo puts his foot down. 

"You barely slept eight hours, Mark. You need your rest. One afternoon away won't hurt."

Dustin chews on his breakfast and nods at everything Eduardo says.

Mark studies Eduardo carefully, tilting his head as if he's looking for something. He must find it because he nods once and says, "Okay. I'll work from home." 

That isn't exactly what Eduardo said, but he'll take what he can get. He rounds the island in the kitchen, placing his hands on Mark's shoulders to push him towards the stairs, and freezes when Mark's hands cover Eduardo's. He squeezes gently, meeting Eduardo's eyes, and smiles again. Something tugs inside Eduardo's chest and he can't help but lean down, brushing his mouth over Mark's quickly. Mark responds with a quiet sigh and Eduardo pulls away, watches his eyes flutter open.

Mark licks his lips once before heading up the stairs, turning to look at Eduardo and wave at Dustin before he disappears at the top. Eduardo lets out a stuttered breath. 

Dustin starts laughing. 

Eduardo throws a sponge at him. 

\-- -- 

Two days later, it goes to hell. 

The depositions are about to start and Mark is once again deep into taking care of not losing Facebook. Eduardo deals with the inheritance that opens up for him in a few months and wants to talk to Mark about it. That makes him pause, but they're going to be married for some time and he should know about Eduardo's plans.

They've been dancing around each other, finding ways to touch, stand closer, and it's driving Eduardo crazy. Mark is holding back and he thinks it's because he doesn't know where Eduardo stands. 

Deciding to take him out to lunch, even if Mark puts up a fight, Eduardo enters the Facebook offices and heads for Mark's floor. He knows there's a problem the moment he steps out of the elevator. Everyone is standing around watching Mark have a meltdown in one of the conference rooms. Chris is yelling back, and he doesn't know why he does it but he heads toward them. He knocks before opening the door and steps inside, closing it again with a loud click in the suddenly silent room. 

"Guys. Everyone can see you. Maybe you want to take this into a room that has actual walls." 

Chris throws his hands up. "Thanks for noting the obvious, Wardo. It's what I've been telling him." 

Eduardo looks between Mark and Chris. "What happened?" 

"The suit is set for two days from now and the Winklevii have decided to come at Mark harder than we expected. They are pissed about the fact that they can't have you on their side and figure your marriage is bullshit." 

Eduardo fists his hands at his side. "What can I do?" 

Mark turns on him, teeth clenched. "This is not about you. None of this has anything to do with you." 

It's like a punch to his stomach and Eduardo feels the wall he'd been tearing down start rebuilding. 

"Right." 

He goes to leave but-- no. This isn't going to happen again. 

"Like hell it isn't."

"What?" 

Mark is staring at him when he calmly turns back, raising his brow. "It is my business. This place is my business. You are my business." 

Mark rolls his eyes. "Really? That's news to me." 

Eduardo doesn't understand any of this but he knows this Mark. The one that strikes first so he won't get hurt. "Did we get a divorce when I wasn't looking? Are we not married?"

The door opens again and Sean walks in, red in the face. "You all need to chill the fuck out, okay? People out there are freaking out." 

Mark isn't paying any attention, glaring only at Eduardo. 

He knows this has nothing to do with Facebook. Something else is going on, but they can't afford to have their employees worrying about their executives’ personal lives. "Fine. I'll go home." He points at Mark. "But we're not done." 

\-- --

He paces from the living room to Mark's office to the kitchen for hours. His anger increases the longer he waits, and by the time Mark does come home, Eduardo is ready to go ten rounds. The one good thing about the whole marriage had been that at least, in this, they were together. They had a common goal. They knew were they stood and what the lines were. 

The last few months erased all the lines and Eduardo doesn't want to let Mark go. It's insane. He hadn't even realized it until Mark was yelling at him that he didn't belong. That's bullshit. He belongs here. 

The door opens and he turns to give Mark a good dressing down, but the words get stuck in his throat at the look on Mark's face. 

"Sean told me about the bar." 

Eduardo is thrown by that, thinks back to what Mark is talking about. "That he got stupid drunk and I drove him home? I told you about that weeks ago." 

Mark shakes his head. "No. That you had people all over you but you kept turning them down." 

What?

"What?" 

Mark sets his things down carefully on the hall table, rummaging through his bag and not looking at Eduardo. "You don't have to do that, Wardo. If you need-- as long as you’re discreet, I don't care." 

Eduardo sees red. He hasn't wanted to hurt Mark this much since the dilution. 

Eduardo knows he's in love with Mark . He doesn't know what to do with that. He isn't the same boy that he kind of loved in college, the best friend who betrayed him, but he's still Mark. Caustic and rude, sometimes, and more selfish than Eduardo can necessarily handle, but he's also smart and treats Eduardo with respect and seems to enjoy his company. Eduardo even thinks that maybe -- maybe he loves him back a little. 

"No."

Mark looks over at him. 

Eduardo takes a step closer. "I am not cheating on you, so forget whatever you were about to say." 

He sees the scowl on Mark's face. "I'm-- I don't want you to give up sex, Wardo." 

"Okay, fine. Then do something about it." 

Mark's eyes go wide, darken slightly. "What?" 

This is ridiculous and they both know it. 

"You think I miss sex so much then do something about that." He steps into Mark's space, keeping his hands at his side because this has to be Mark's choice. "Fuck me." 

Mark gasps a little and stares up at him. He licks his lips and then speaks quietly. "You want--" 

Eduardo doesn't wait for another response, dives into Mark's mouth, gripping the back of his sweatshirt in his hands as he bites, breathing in Mark's moans. They move in a flurry of limbs, tangled together until Eduardo doesn't know where to go. He stumbles up the stairs, never taking his mouth from Mark's, and then he's on his back. Mark climbs on top of him, drags Eduardo up for another hungry, lingering kiss as his hands work on their clothes. 

He stops for a second, leaning his head on Eduardo's, breathing harsh and quick. "I didn't think you'd ever forgive me." 

Eduardo shakes his head. "Me neither. But it-- I'm not going to lie and say it's okay, but it's better. Every day it gets better. Are you-- I hurt you, too?" 

Mark gives his standard shrug and Eduardo can't handle the bloom of warmth that rises in his chest. He loves the stubborn idiot. They can talk about it later. He pushes up to press his mouth on Mark's neck, revels in the vibrations of the groan that escapes Mark's mouth. 

The clothes come off quickly and he’s naked under Mark, taking in the smooth skin rubbing against his own, the way Mark's shoulders slope down gracefully in a way you'd never expect, the shape of Mark's cheekbones, the dimples that you don't know are there, and he kisses each of them as Mark laughs haltedly. 

Their hands fumble with skin, on hips and legs and arms, but it's so much better than anything he's ever done before. Mark pushes him onto his back, licks his way down Eduardo, stopping to pay ardent attention to Eduardo's chest, taking one nipple then the other, sucking and biting until Eduardo is writhing under his mouth. Mark trails one hand down and curls it around Eduardo’s length, stroking slowly at first and Eduardo bucks up into it, clenching at the sheets, and makes a whining noise at the back of his throat that makes Mark groan in return. 

He picks up speed, twisting his hand on the upsweep and Eduardo feels it all the way down his spine to his toes. Mark is watching his face and all that attention aimed at him makes the heat in his stomach turn to a boil. He grabs Mark's curls in one hand, tugs and grins at the gasp that Mark lets out, the way his eyes seem to darken, mouth falling open. Eduardo needs Mark inside him. 

He nips at Mark's chin, growls into his skin. "Fuck me, Mark." 

Mark jerks in response, eyes closing, and he nods quickly. He gives Eduardo one last stroke then scrambles for his bedside table. Eduardo grins a little when he throws the lube over his shoulder at him, but then Mark is kneeling over him, fingers wet, and he pushes one inside Eduardo, making him lose all the air from his lungs. He breathes through the breach and relaxes when Mark adds another finger. Mark scissors his fingers, stretching Eduardo until he can take another. Eduardo can't stop the way he says Mark's name, begs for him to be inside. 

It's almost unbearable when Mark removes his fingers but there's burning stretch as the head of Mark's cock breaches Eduardo and he opens his legs, lets Mark in all the way. Eduardo's breath gets caught in his throat as Mark pulls out, then back in, pace slow at first and then picking up. He wraps his legs around Mark, shifts and it's like a burst of pleasure everywhere. His skin against Mark's, their bodies twined together. He reaches out to take one of Mark's hands and laces their fingers together. 

Mark keeps mumbling something under his breath, against his skin as he kisses whatever of Eduardo he can reach. Eduardo thinks he knows what Mark's lips are shaping but it can't -- he can't be sure.

It's all too much and not enough and Eduardo comes with Mark's name on his lips. 

\-- -- 

They lie together on Mark's bed, their hearts beating in rhythm, come cooling on the sheets and their skin. Mark's head under Eduardo's chin, hands holding on to Eduardo tightly. 

"So." Mark pauses and then continues. "I guess I did something about it.” 

Eduardo cracks a smile and then starts giggling. 

Mark raises his head and gives him a look. 

Eduardo pushes the unruly hair away from Mark's face and grins down at him. 

"I guess you did." 

\-- -- 

The deposition starts with way more mainstream media coverage than it merits. It's not like someone was murdered or they are celebrities that are being sued. Mark owns a website -- a great website, the best in the world -- but it shouldn't be as much trouble as it ends up being. 

Mark is tetchy for days and Eduardo doesn't take it personally. He understands what Mark is going through. At night he works hard to make Mark forget the hell he's going through during the day. 

Eduardo moves into Mark's bedroom because he likes to wake up to Mark pressed against his back or his side. He doesn't think about the fact that they still haven't talked about what they're going to do once the depositions are over. The pending annulment -- well, Eduardo supposes, divorce now -- is a shadow over their time together.

Maybe Mark doesn't want him the same way. Maybe this is just his way of passing the time he has to tolerate Eduardo in his life. 

He knows he should ask but it's not something he really wants to know. The answer, if it's the one Eduardo imagines it might be, will break him. 

Their nights are filled with heat and want and need. _And love,_ Eduardo thinks. 

Their days with lawyers and stress and paparazzi. 

It's for those last reasons that Chris and the legal team call for a late night strategy meeting. They seem to be getting closer to a resolution and decide to go over all their options. Mark calls Eduardo to apologize -- Eduardo is pretty shocked and pleased about that -- and cancel their dinner plans. 

"I'm sorry, Wardo." 

"It's okay. I understand." 

Sean is a ball of annoying nerves and Eduardo knows he's driving Dustin and the rest of the staff crazy with his conspiracy theories of what the lawsuit is really after. A couple of hours of that is enough to make anyone want to strangle him, so Eduardo imagines a couple of weeks has most of the employees (READ: Chris) planning Sean's untimely death. 

Eduardo still hates Sean but he doesn't want Mark going through a lengthy murder investigation with his company being the prime suspect, so he calls Sean up and tells him to meet him at the same bar from their last adventure. The place is packed with people on a Friday night, and Eduardo doesn't realize until it's too late that most of them are paps hanging around in order to get some good fodder for their stupid blogs, magazines, whatever the case may be. 

He sips his drink and keeps his back to them the entire time that Sean tries to regroup and figure out a way out of there without being noticed. 

Being Sean Parker, that's really not an option. 

He hears the commotion as one photog and then another and then another realizes who Sean is. Eduardo closes his eyes, throws enough money, he hopes, onto the bar, and grabs Sean's arm, pulling him out to the street. They'd parked themselves -- thank god -- half a block down, and Eduardo drags Sean toward his car. He hears the shouting and running getting closer. Sean looks back, a little panicked, and Eduardo grabs Sean's keys, gets him into the passenger side and runs for the driver’s seat. He makes it just as one of the paps starts taking pictures, the flashes blinding Eduardo as he shifts the car and tries to weave into traffic. 

They follow him in their vans, the bright light of their cameras and flashbulbs going off around them until Eduardo realizes that he can't tell what's in front of him, and that's when he jolts to the side, the sound of the car hitting them loud in his ears. The impact of the airbag hits him in the chest and he says Mark’s name before blacking out. 

 

\-- -- 

He comes to fairly quickly and there's already an ambulance, police, and a large crowd gathered around the car. 

Sean. 

He breathes a little easier to see that Sean has already gotten out of the car and is frantically pointing at Eduardo and behind them. 

The police insist that he needs to go to the hospital to get checked out. Eduardo argues, but as Sean seems to think he's about to fall dead in the middle of the street, he doesn't have anyone to back him. The ambulance ride takes ten minutes, which he spends reassuring Sean that he isn't going to die and Mark wouldn't be killing him. 

"Sean, calm down. For once, it's _not_ your fault, okay?" 

Sean's eyes are huge and Eduardo thinks he might be going into shock. He throws off the blanket they'd wrapped him up in and hands it to Sean, tells him to use it. 

The process to be admitted to the ER is pretty fast. (It pays to be married to Mark.) They bandage up a small cut on his head. The doctor who examines him tells Eduardo that he is fine, if a little bruised. He tries not to get exasperated because he could have told him that. It's procedure in this case, apparently, so he bites his tongue and waits for the all-clear. 

He pats his coat for his phone. Calling Mark is probably a good idea. His screen is cracked and he can't get a signal. Great. 

"Did you check on-- Sean?" 

"Your friend?"

Eduardo makes a face but nods. 

"He is a little in shock, but that's expected." He eyes Eduardo suspiciously. 

Eduardo gives him a reassuring smile. "I've been in higher stress situations." 

The doctor shakes his head and leaves to get Eduardo signed out. 

Sean walks into his curtained off area and stands there with this ridiculous lost look, and Eduardo motions to him. He pats awkwardly at Sean's shoulder when he hugs him, but thankfully that's done fast when the doctor walks back in with his release papers. 

All in all, it took only an hour.

They start down the hallway and Eduardo turns to ask Sean if he'd called anyone when they hear the commotion from the lobby. Someone is ripping the admissions nurse to pieces and Eduardo's eyes grow big when he recognizes the voice. He jogs ahead, ignoring the look Sean gives him as he takes off. 

"Sir, I cannot give you--"

"I will say this one more time… He is my husband. You need to tell me--"

"I need proof of that, sir." 

Mark lets out a frustrated growl. "I don't carry my _fucking_ marriage certificate with me." He points at his ring. "This not good enough?" 

Eduardo stops a few feet behind Mark.

"Mark." 

At the sound of Eduardo's voice, Mark turns around and his anger ebbs away, relief slackening his face, his eyes flicking over Eduardo’s face, pausing on the bandage, then following the line of Eduardo's chest, torso, hands until Mark's satisfied that he's in one piece. " _Wardo._ " 

It's the tremble in Mark's usually steady voice that makes Eduardo take those last few steps and pull Mark into a hug. "I'm okay." He clings to Mark, rubbing a hand over his back, and repeats it again. "I'm okay." 

Mark pulls back, grazing his fingers over the bandage, and Eduardo smiles softly. 

"Just a little cut. Nothing to--" 

Mark's mouth closes over his, manic and rushed. Eduardo holds on as Mark kisses him hard, tries to calm the fear he can taste and lets his heart hope, open, and believe. 

\-- -- 

Mark is silent all the way home but there's a thrumming of anger under the surface. Eduardo asks if he needs to go back to the office and receives a curt shake of Mark's head. They walk in the door quietly and Mark disappears into his office, shutting the door behind him. Eduardo gives him space, removing his jacket and shoes by the door. 

He sits on the couch, lying his head back against the cushion and closing his eyes. 

Mark needs to know. 

The door to the office opens and he rolls his head to watch Mark step into the room. He's pretty sure he looks like an idiot right now. He can feel the smile on his face and he can't imagine that Mark can't see it all in his eyes. 

He waits as Mark stops at the edge of the couch, eyes looking straight ahead. When he opens his mouth, Eduardo's heart skips a beat at the words. 

"You can't ever leave." 

He starts to get up but Mark shakes his head. 

"I know this was supposed to be about what I owed you, about what I took and the money-- but I can't not have you here." Words don't come easily to Mark, Eduardo knows that better than anyone, and he knows what it means that he…

"Mark." 

"No, Eduardo. I can't--"

"Mark." Eduardo stands in Mark's space, makes him look up and reaches a hand out, thumbing up the line of Mark's jaw. "I love you." 

He almost laughs at the comical way Mark's eyes go wide. 

"You-- but I--"

Eduardo rolls his eyes, grabs for Mark to pull him flush against Eduardo's body. "It was never about the money. Ever. I would have helped you no matter what because you're Mark. I don't want to leave. I don't to end our marriage. I want to see where we can go. I want you, Mark." 

Mark pauses, then snorts loudly. "That was so corny, Wardo." 

Eduardo nods, grinning. "I know. You're married to corny, though, so you'll have to deal."

He kisses the smile from Mark's lips, swallows his muttered, "I think I can." Mark stops and pulls back, meets Eduardo’s curious gaze. "I -- me, too." And then his mouth presses on Eduardo's, lingering and sweet. 

 

_I don't have a choice but I still choose you._  
I don't love you but I always will.  
I don't love you but I always will.  
I don't love you but I always will. -- Poison  & Wine by The Civil Wars 

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback loved and appreciated! Please leave here or at [LJ](http://freakykat.livejournal.com/358700.html?mode=reply#add_comment).


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